Shopper exposes 'handmade jewelry' scam: 'It isn't ethical'

Trying to find out where your favorite jewelry designer sourced its products or materials can be very difficult. One Redditor walked into a Chicago jewelry store and had a gut feeling something was wrong. 

"I went into this store called MASHALLAH in Chicago and it claimed all their jewelry is handmade. I was suspicious because their prices were too cheap, [as] I've made cast metal jewelry before. I snapped a few photos, did a reverse Google image search, [and] confirmed my suspicion that they're buying everything from China. Just curious about what people in this community of jewelry enthusiasts and experts think about this?"

"Of course, it isn't ethical," one Redditor responded.

AliExpress, Temu, and other overseas shopping sites make it a lot harder to tell where the products were made and from what materials. 

"There are a bunch of 'designers' doing this. I've seen them buy things on Etsy and pass them off as their own," one commenter wrote.

Another Redditor said, "I saw this at the Christmas markets in New York. One vendor gave me the whole spiel on how everything was handmade and then I saw the same rings at three other vendors."

It's also common for designers to have their work stolen and remade to be sold on sites like AliExpress or Shein. Designer Cassey, who runs the Blogilates website, put Shein on blast for stealing their designs. Luckily, this has encouraged many brands to file for design patents.

If you are in the market to shop for secondhand, vintage, or handmade jewelry, there are a few things you can do to make sure you are not supporting unethical companies. 

Ask the jeweler for further details about the supply chain — including its labor practices, waste management, sourcing, mining, and how it offsets its carbon footprint. If you do not have access to the seller, you can always look up the brand online to see how much of its sourcing information is available. 

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics? Giving me money back 💰 Letting me trade for new stuff 👕 Making it as easy as possible ⚡ Keeping my stuff out of landfills 🗑️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Ethical companies want to be transparent and will make this information easy to find. Before you tap your credit card, take a deeper look at the jewelry that grabs your attention.

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